Fantasist's Scroll

Okay, this is a little scary.
You know that old urban legend about the guy being murdered or killed with an icicle? Well, now someone has created a mold that you can use to make an ice push-dagger. No, I am not kidding. Is it the ultimate murder weapon? Use it once and then let it melt away. No fuss, no muss, no evidence. Hmm, somehow I think a TV detective could figure it out and get a conviction… Still, the idea has a lot of fictional possibilities. Well, check out Objects of Violence and decide for yourself.

Yes, it’s a little morbid for a Friday Fun Link, but, dammit, it is fun in a sick twisted way. So, go click on the link! (Please note that I do not advocate killing anyone, outside of a just war, and this post has been presented for informational and educational purposes only!)

This is a very cool website.
In the Hall of Mountain Kings, that is. It’s an inside look at a sumo stable and the life of the sumotori who live there. It’s written in a very comfortable style and is a great way to look at sumo, not to mention Japanese culture in general.
I haven’t watched sumo in a very long time, but there should be a basho coming up soon. Maybe I can catch it on ESPN2. If not, I’ll just have to read In the Hall of Mountain Kings and dream of watching sumo in person.

Ah, well, it’s Friday and I did a bunch of work last night, so, humor me and click on the link and check it out.

I’ve been reading a lot of fiction lately.

But, I’m going to dole out the reviews on separate days this week!
It’s been hard to motivate myself to write relavant entries on this blog, especially when I’m writing on the other blog, so I’m milking my review entries. I had been reading a linguistics book, but the divorce thing, along with the holidays, made it just too hard to read non-fiction for a bit. So, instead, I turned to Christopher Moore’s Blood Sucking Fiends. I’ve read several of his books before and Mr. Moore never fails to delight. This was no exception.

The story, in short, is about a somewhat insecure young woman who is turned into a vampire, in San Francisco, and has to learn to cope with it. Along the way, we find out about a young writer who becomes her modern-day Renfield. We also meet a cast of characters that are truly charming, amusing and Moore-eseque. Mr. Moore has a way of creating characters that just tickles me to no end. They’re funny and tragic and real in a way that few authors seem to be able to duplicate. Oh, this is a comedy, BTW. In fact, as far as I know, everything Mr. Moore writes is, more or less, a comedy. But that works, since life is pretty funny.
The story is a rolicking ride through both San Francisco and the vampire myth. Virtually every aspect is explored, primarily from the standpoint of a fledgling vampire and her “ghoul”. But, we also get a look at the human condition and relationships and, yes, even a bit of sex. It’s all pretty light-hearted, of course, which is Mr. Moore’s style and, frankly, why I turned to him in my despair.

In short, this is a very fun, light, funny book that also has a deeper message about love, loss and life. Or, if you prefer, un-life. I cannot reccomend it enough. It’s the perfect antidote to the holiday blues!

I’ve been selected for punishment!

Actually, to doll out punishment, ironically. So, I’ve been playing this game, right? And, I’ve faithfully made an entry for every letter so far. Some are better than others, but they all meet the bare minimum requirements. And, I’ve been consistent, so I think that counts for something.
Well, the other day, someone “broke the rules” in a small way and I was selected to punish them. What a novel experience for me! I’m usually the punishee, not the punisher, so it was a bit unnerveing. Still, I did my best. Hope it turns out well!

Yea! More toys!

Okay, these are mainly silly, but sort of cool toys. They’re called Neo-Kaiju, I guess because they’re kind of like Japanese monster-movie monsters. They’re funny, at any rate. I especially liked Humpty Djinn and Steam Punk. They’re mainly sold in whole-sale lots of 10, but you can get them individually at Super 7 Store.

Go! Be a good consumer and consume!

The ultimate genius.

I have long admired the genius that was DaVinci. He did a little bit of everything and he did it all so very, very well. An artist and an inventor and now, it seems, a bit of an entertainer, too.
This story on Wired examines another aspect of Leonardo’s genius: robots. More accurately, automata. Think of Disney’s animatronics in the Middle Ages. These drawings, which have been long interpreted as some kind of spring-powered “car”, were drawn and presumably built in roughly 1478. Their modern recreation, painstakingly recontructed from numerous drawings and sketchs, have produced a a cart that runs along a predetermined path. A path that can be changed based on gears and other settings within the device itself. In other words, a Middle Ages robot.

Now, there’s got to be some great ideas for fantasy worlds and stories in that! And, it’s a great article. Check it out.

The male version of the “bodice ripper”.

Let me preface this review with the simple statement that this is: a) Not the kind of book I usually read, b) There is almost nothing about real “bushido” in the book, and c) Was purchased at a used book store for less than a dollar. Okay, I admit that I was looking for something different, and not too challenging to read, but I was hoping for more.
I finished Code of Bushido by Don Pendelton this week. This is from a series of “men’s fiction” (no, that’s not a euphemism for pornography!) called SuperBolan, which is named after the main character, Mack Bolan. It’s about as low-brow as you can get and still be reading books that don’t have illustrations.
The characterisation is weak and the rest of the writing is worse. Everyone is a giant characature of actual characters. Mack Bolan is a stereotypical, steely-eyed, tough-guy fighting a shadow war against terrorists for the CIA. He’s the ultimate dark hero. A professional killer who’s out there killing the bad guys and keeping America safe. Yes, it’s really that heavy-handed.

But, setting all that aside. It was entertaining. Entertaining in the same way that, say, a Sylvester Stalone movie is. Lots of action, a little mostly bad dialog and not much else. But, I didn’t have to think about it. It was what it was. There wasn’t any really deep social message here, just action and lots of it. So, it was an oddly soothing change of pace for me. The only really annoying thing was the totally wrong presentation of bushido and traditional Japanese culture. This author has obviously never read anything about bushido, or any of the traditional martial arts, or even talked to anyone with more than a passing interest in Japanese culture.
So, while I can’t reccomend this book in all good conscience, if you’re in the mood for mindless mayhem and a break from anything too heavy, this might just get the job done.

But, to counter the “low-brow-ness” of Code of Bushido, I started reading The Science of Words. Nothing like some good linguistics to wash the filth off!

I just re-read this last week.

How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy is good enough that I’ve read it three times now and I still picked up something new. In fact, I always pick up something new when I read it, or almost anything else about writing.
This book, though, is different. For one thing, it’s fairly focused on speculative fiction, which is just a euphemism science-fiction and fantasy. Also, the author, Orson Scott Card, is not only a writing teacher, but also a Hugo and Nebula Award winner, so he really does know what he’s talking about. But, beyond that, it’s a damn fine book. So, I’ve read it again, after two years, and this time, I’m doing a bit of a review.
If you’re just starting out, this is a great book to start get you started the right way. If you’ve been at this for a bit, it’s still a great book to read, because it will show you some things that you may not have noticed about writing speculative fiction. At the very least, it’ll be a good refresher course for you. I know that I use the MICE “rule of thumb” when I look at my own story ideas, such as they are these days. This book really taught me quite a bit about making realistic fantays settings and, I think, contributes to the strength of my story, The Chrome Girl.
In any case, I cannot reccomend How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy enough. It’s well worth the price.